As sentiments run high across the country about the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy in Sanford, Fla., a rally in support of Trayvon Martin's family was taking place in Kansas City.

People attending the rally were expected to come wearing hooded sweatshirts, which Martin was wearing when he was shot by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, 28. Martin was walking through the neighborhood where his father lives.

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Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense.

Because Martin was black and Zimmerman has a white father and Hispanic mother, the case has become a racial flashpoint that has civil rights leaders and others leading a series of protests in Sanford and around the country.

The Florida law protecting Zimmerman is called Stand Your Ground, authorizing someone to use deadly force if they feel threatened. Kansas is one of the other states that has a similar law on the books.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys said the law has had little effect in Kansas courtrooms. Defense attorney Carl Cornwell said he thinks juries should decide these cases.

Cornwell said he believes Zimmerman should be charged.

"You have the right to use deadly force if somebody's going to try to hurt you," Cornwell said. "You'd better be sure, because a jury has to decide objectively whether you did what was reasonable under the circumstances."

The Orlando Sentinel reported Monday that Zimmerman told police he lost Martin in the neighborhood and was walking back to his vehicle when the youth approached him from behind. The two exchanged words, Zimmerman said, and Martin then punched him in the nose, jumped on top of him and began banging his head on a sidewalk. Zimmerman said he began crying for help; Martin's family thinks it was their son who was crying out. Witness accounts differ.

The Sanford police statement said the newspaper story was "consistent" with evidence turned over to prosecutors.

Martin's family confirmed reports that the teen had been suspended by Miami-Dade County schools because traces of marijuana were found in a plastic baggie in his book bag.